1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an can compactor apparatus for crushing aluminum beverage cans or the like to reduce their volume and facilitate storage and recycling operations, and more particularly to such an apparatus which employs a set of opposed, electrically driven crusher belts which collectively form a V, and which are operative to crush a can inserted between the belts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent emphasis on environmental concerns, such as decreasing land fill space, diminishing supplies of natural resources, conservation of energy and minimizing land disturbance due to mining operations, has resulted in increased recycling operations. One of the most economically viable materials to recycle is aluminum and aluminum beverage cans represent the bulk of consumer recyclable aluminum.
One problem with recycling aluminum cans is the large volume which such cans occupy compared to their aluminum content. The obvious solution to this problem is to provide a can compactor which is capable of efficiently and completely flattening large numbers of such cans.
Numerous attempts have been made to produce such a can compactor. One approach has been to use a hand-operated lever system for manually crushing a can. This type of crusher is generally designed for occasional, in home use. Generally, a considerable amount of force is required to operate such crushers, which limits their use to physically able people. Furthermore, the cans must be loaded, crushed and removed one-by-one by hand, thus making it time consuming and laborious to manually process large numbers of cans.
To solve these problems, a number of motorized can crushers have been designed with a variety of configurations.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,618 to Heiser, et al. teaches a piston-like plunger which first creases and then thoroughly crushes a can inserted therein. The plunger can be manually or power driven.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,994 to Talley is another two-stage creasing and crushing apparatus in which a motor driven piston contacts a can inserted within a closed housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,413 to Deiters teaches a motor-driven single action can crusher associated with a waste receptacle. Whole cans inserted into a closed housing rest on a shelf with an opening sized to support an uncrushed can but allow a crushed can to fall through into the waste receptacle.
Each of these crushers uses a reciprocating piston with all of the problems inherent in such a system, including undue wear and tear on the machinery and the resulting increased maintenance caused thereby.
It is clear then that a need still exists for a motorized can compactor which requires little or no maintenance. Such a can compactor should be compact and relatively inexpensive, capable of unobtrusive display and use, and should be able to efficiently process numerous aluminum cans in a short time. In addition, the compactor should include safety features which prevent or minimize any danger to a person using the compactor.